Taximeters are used in vehicles for hire and serve, as is known, for the computation of the fare and its display so that the fare is easily legible for the driver and the customer. In computing the fare, values of a local rate scale are multiplied by distances and time units and are summed up. Since taximeters, in many cases, have to be installed in niches and recesses provided by the manufacturer in the dashboard of the vehicle involved, the dimensions of the apparatus are predetermined in such a way that an efficient utilization of the space available for the apparatus is necessary for a display which makes extensive use of the available format relative to the available front face of the appliance.
Apart from the fact that the purchaser of a taximeter expects that the taximeter is matched to the price range for vehicle instruments prevailing in the area of motor vehicles, the conditions of mass production must also be considered in the manufacture of taximeters:. This means that the lowest possible number of components, with the components being as simple as possible, as well an easy and largely mechanizable assembly, with a relatively low quantity of assembly steps, is to be sought.